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What started out as just an idea during the COVID-19 pandemic at a gas station in Rankin County is now becoming one of the newest restaurants in Pearl.

Pearl businessman Jason Henry hopes to open the Jackson-area's newest steakhouse, called Team 10, in approximately four months as construction crews busily attend to work on the corners of Old Brandon Road and El Dorado Road.

"There just seemed to be a void in the area for a good, laid-back, fair-price-point place for a back-yard-style steak in the area," Henry said. "I'm just a good old beer-drinking redneck and like good steaks and want to bring that to the folks around here. There just hasn't been a good option for a good charcoal, wood-fired steak available in Rankin County. So, that's really what our target is."

When the COVID-19 pandemic was dominating everyone's lives, Henry, now 37 years old, owned a convenience store in Brandon, which was able to remain open, even when restaurants weren't allowed to be open.

So, Henry knew people wanted to still be able to eat good food and feel as normal as possible. He had an idea.

"We already did some breakfast and lunch items out of there, but this was different," Henry said. "I went out and bought a pellet grill and set it up at the gas station and started cooking a few rib-eye dinners just because I was bored. I put it out on Facebook just to see what would happen."

What happened next was remarkable.

Within two hours, Henry had more response than he could handle.

"I had more orders than I could turn around. I had to put people off," said Henry, who ended up cooking nearly 200 steaks in two hours. "It was just folks getting to-go plates, because they couldn't go to restaurants."

He did that three or four times for the fun of it, but he said folks were always reaching out to know when he was going to have his rib-eye special again.

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Once the pandemic relented and everything went back to a relatively normal, Henry no longer had time to keep up with the to-go orders. However, he still had the itch and even considered building a small restaurant behind or near the convenience store.

Eventually, he decided to get out of the convenience store business and jump into the restaurant business with both feet in a different area of Rankin County.

"The timing was just right," he said.

During his time in years prior as a salesperson for Country Meat Packers and Country Pleasin Sausage, he traveled extensively and was eating out in a different restaurant virtually every night. He said that sparked his interest in the restaurant business.

"I have really always wanted a restaurant since then, and now is that opportunity," Henry said.

What's in a name?

The name Team 10 came from a brainstorming session and actually has nothing to do with the restaurant business.

As a child playing youth baseball, Henry adored then Atlanta Braves superstar Chipper Jones, who wore No. 10. That became his number. Years later, he transitioned into auto racing and Henry put the No. 10 on his cars.

As he was trying to come up with a name for his restaurant, the idea of No. 10 came up.

"It was really a joke," Henry said. "But as we went along, it kind of seemed like a good laid-back idea. I didn't want some fancy name. I hope it reflects a place where people can come and be relaxed and get a reasonably priced, well-cooked steak."

Henry also stressed that Team 10 is not just a steakhouse. He wants to make sure the entire family can come and get a number of options.

"There's a variety of options on the menu," he said. "We want to be a great place for everybody to come and have fun and have a great meal without breaking the bank. We think we are going to be able to do that, and people will be happy."